- Title: Rami Malek leads 'relatable' revenge thriller 'The Amateur'
- Date: 31st March 2025
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MARCH 31, 2025) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF MALEK TALKING WITH REPORTERS ON RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR AND PRODUCER, RAMI MALEK, SAYING: "I was watching Daniel Craig, I said 'how do I get to do that? I have to do it in my own way, and I'll have to do it in an unexpected manner. I like doing une
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Caitriona Balfe Laurence Fishburne Rami Malek The Amateur The Amateur 2025 film The Amateur London premiere
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: UK
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA003286030032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Oscar-winner and former Bond villain Rami Malek takes on the role of an unlikely action hero in the espionage thriller "The Amateur".
The movie is based on Robert Littell's 1981 book and film of the same name, which starred John Savage in the lead role.
In the 2025 remake, Malek plays Charlie Heller, a CIA decoder with an IQ of over 170, who works in the deepest depths of Langley and lives in a picture perfect country house with his wife Sarah, played by Rachel Brosnahan.
Their happy life comes to an abrupt end when Sarah gets taken hostage and killed in a terrorist attack during a business trip to London. Grief-stricken Charlie tracks down the perpetrators but to his astonishment, his superiors refuse to take action. Using his skills, Charlie blackmails the bosses to get mission specific training and sets out on a global man-hunt to get revenge.
"I was watching Daniel Craig, I said 'how do I get to do that? I have to do it in my own way, and I'll have to do it in an unexpected manner," Malek, who played the main antagonist Lyutsifer Safin in "No Time to Die", said at the European premiere of "The Amateur" in London on Monday (March 31).
"I like doing unexpected, unpredictable characters, playing them and creating them. And here's the story with one at the heart and centre of it. He has a unique circumstance that he's been thrust into, and no one thinks he's capable of what he ultimately achieves. And I think that's something that is extremely relatable to all of us," Malek said.
Malek, who also produced the film, said the themes of the original movie still resonated four decades later.
"It was a Cold War film, and I think there are elements of that period that still exist today. So I think it's a very relevant story. Any story, underdog story, I think is pertinent to our time and someone who speaks truth to power the way Charlie does, it's important to have that thrown on to the big screen, if possible, every so often," he said.
Veteran actor Laurence Fishburne plays Henderson, who is tasked with getting the scrawny tech whiz field ready. The two discover their differences but also a mutual respect for one another over the course of Charlie's journey to avenge his wife's death.
"The audience can expect not to be able to figure this out. A lot of twists, a lot of twists and turns, yeah," Fishburne said.
"The Amateur", which was directed by James Hawes, also stars "Outlander" actress Caitriona Balfe and "The Bear" and "The Punisher" actor Jon Bernthal.
The new adaptation was in development for nearly two decades and Hawes said his team went back to the book for inspiration.
"It's absolutely loyal to the premise of the book. It uses many of the same characters and the same emotions," he said, adding he set out to do a character action thriller. "It has got fantastic set pieces but it's about having the emotion and the character that drives those along. So you care about the car smash because you want the guy inside to survive."
Balfe, who has been filming "Outlander" since 2013, said she was impressed by the "breakneck speed" at which "The Amateur" was shot.
"We were going through pages every day and I was like 'whoa, this is like..', I mean, coming from TV, you do that. But in a film with the scale of what we were shooting, it was incredible. It was incredible to watch," she said.
"The Amateur" begins its global theatrical rollout on April 9.
(Production: Marissa Davison, Hanna Rantala) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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